Kickstarter - Brenda Brathwaite and Tom Hall RPG

October 8th, 2012, 12:08

Originally Posted by oasis789
I find it odd that some people believe that a kickstarter project has only upsides, no downsides. As if you put in your money, and if it succeeds that's great, if it fails no harm done, you're just out a couple bucks. But that isn't true. You don't see the productive uses that money could have gone to by having saved it and spent it elsewhere, perhaps on a kickstarter with little more credibility and a little more polish. There are tradeoffs.

I personally backed quite a few projects on Kickstarter - some of them known, some of them experimental. But with some projects I look at the videos and support the project, here I support the people because their track record speaks more than any kind of video.

I've also seen some of the projects slipped and slipping away. So no, I am not worried about downsides.

I personally split kickstarter into two categories:

1 - donations (unknown or experimental projects by unknown or little known teams with unclear results)
2 - preorders (well-known or experienced teams who KNOW how to make games and there is only very little risk they won't deliver)

I know that it is NOT what KS originally meant to be, but it evolved when the big guys took over. Still, whenever I see some interesting project which really resonates with me (and it doesn't mean only game) I always consider donation.
(The same applies for Indiegogo site)

However, these people made some of my most beloved games so not supporting would have been a big mistake in my book.

Originally Posted by oasis789
I find it odd that some people believe that a kickstarter project has only upsides, no downsides. As if you put in your money, and if it succeeds that's great, if it fails no harm done, you're just out a couple bucks. But that isn't true. You don't see the productive uses that money could have gone to by having saved it and spent it elsewhere, perhaps on a kickstarter with little more credibility and a little more polish. There are tradeoffs.

It seems like you have some sort of personal attachment to this game, for what reasons I don't know. I personally hope they succeed. As to similarities in the story? So what, if it plays well. Every game has similarities.

Originally Posted by rune_74
It seems like you have some sort of personal attachment to this game, for what reasons I don't know. I personally hope they succeed. As to similarities in the story? So what, if it plays well. Every game has similarities.

It is certainly true that "every game has similarities" with respect to the plots. Genres have tropes and conventions. Authors are inspired by previous works and make references to them. That in itself is not a bad thing.

What does look bad is the appearance of being lazy/unprepared, which is the cumulative effect of an unpolished pitch video, heavy on name dropping but light on relevant details, an ill-timed kickstarter launch without basic information in place and some odd stretch goals, the absence of daily updates or responses to backer comments, and most recently, a plot outline that seems heavily derivative of their last game's.

All suggests that they haven't put much thought and effort into this. Maybe that's acceptable to you but it isn't for me. Let them miss the target, learn from their mistakes, and come back with something better to show us. You'd get a better game.